VALUE ENGINEERING

Our engineershave extensive experience in determining the most cost effective structure for a project.

We have the ability to quickly provide quantifiable information on multiple structural systems of varying materials. This information is brought to the design and construction team so that the decision can be made from an overall perspective. Too often during a value engineering exercise, consultants and architects VE in a vacuum and fail to realize that their decisions have a significant impact on the cost of another discipline’s scope.

All owners and architects have been impacted by significant labor and commodity market swings over the past decade. We will never recommend a structure based on the old adage, “Because that’s the way we did it last time.” Each client and project is different and deserves a unique approach.

Geographical location, site constraints, building function and schedule are all project specific items which impact and are impacted by labor markets, commodity markets, and availability of materials. No design professional can state with certainty that a particular design is the most cost effective without performing some level of due diligence first.

The lowest cost structure may not provide the most value to an owner, although a “provide the lightest structure possible” philosophy is prevalent throughout the design community. A common example of this philosophies short sightedness is when the cost savings associated with the lighter steel structures verses the the additional spray-on-fireproof cost to achieve the lighter required fire rating.

Simply stated, we never want to arrive at the end of a project and have the question, “Why did we design it that way?” We’ll never recommend an individual structural system or material at the beginning of a project. Instead, we will provide quantifiable information so that the team can make decisions based on best value and cost effectiveness for the entire project.